Norristown defendant found guilty of murder in Roo House Tavern slaying

COURTHOUSE — A jury took less than three hours Thursday to convict Norristown’s Tyuan Simon of first-degree murder, marking the culmination of a week-long trial and a case that began more than two years ago with the death of Tyree Whiting.

The jury found Simon guilty of first- and third-degree murder, criminal solicitation to commit murder and criminal conspiracy to commit murder.

Simon, 33, was charged in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of Whitingon Oct. 19, 2010, outside Uptown’s Roo House Tavern on Willow Street in Norristown.

“This has been an emotional roller coaster, especially for the family of the victim,” said Assistant District Attorney Matthew Quigg, lead prosecutor on the case.

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From the beginning, the defense questioned the credibility of all the commonwealth’s 25 to 30 witnesses — especially its primary witness, Bruce “L.B.” Woods Jr., Whiting’s confessed killer.

“Bruce Woods pleaded guilty last year, so that gave them halfway to justice,” said Quigg. “With the jury’s verdict today, that gave them full justice. Now, everybody that was responsible for Tyree Whiting’s death has been convicted of his murder.”

When the verdict was read in court, tears ran down the cheeks of family members on both sides of the case — both the defendant’s and the victim’s.

Defense attorney Alfonso Gambone said he and his client were disappointed with the outcome.

“My client will be exercising his appellate rights. We believe there are a lot of issues we could present on appeal, but we felt that the case was extremely strong and the witnesses were all questionable,” he said as he left the court Thursday.“(Simon) is disappointed by the verdict, as I am. I thought we put on a strong case, but the jury didn’t see it that way.”

Emotional testimony painted Norristown as a “vicious” place with an ugly subculture of guns, drugs and violence, where the “code of the streets” dictates who lives and who dies.

Both the prosecution and the defense offered closing arguments Thursday after four days of evidence presented before the jury in Montgomery County Court.

In his closing arguments, defense attorney Alfonso Gambone said Woods had “nothing to lose” by implicating Simon in a conspiracy.

According to witness testimony, Simon— over beers at Uptown’s Roo House Tavern in Norristown — told Woods he had a “dime” on Whiting’s head.” A “dime,” in street slang, means $10,000.

Woods testified that on the night of Oct. 19, 2010, he had a five- to seven-minute conversation with Simon over beers at the Roo House Tavern, where an agitated Simon made it clear he wanted Whiting dead and was willing to pay for it. Woods said he needed no further incentive than that. He left the bar moments later, lay in wait for Whiting to exit, followed him up the street and shot him dead.

Six shell casings were recovered from the scene that night, and Woods testified he “fired until he stopped moving.”

Gambone argued a man like Woods would do anything to save his own skin, including cooperating with investigators and agreeing to testify against the defendant.

On Wednesday, Gambone reminded Woods that he could have faced the death penalty, had he been convicted of first-degree murder. Rather, he is looking at a sentence of 77 to 156 years behind bars for agreeing to plead guilty to third-degree murder and testify at trial.

“At the end of the day, he did his job. He got his deal,” Gambone said. “Even a man as awful and miserable as (Woods), he doesn’t want them to drive that needle into his arm. Even the lowest of animals has self-preservation. This was the best deal he’ll ever make in his miserable life.”

Throughout the trial, witnesses testified that Simon, 33, perceived Woods as a “flunky” and “dumb,” willing to do whatever he was told by others in order to be accepted.

“If you’re Bruce Woods and you have a miserable life like he does, what are you going to do?” Gambone said.“You say you’re a contract killer. All of a sudden, you’re a contract killer. All of a sudden, you’ve stepped up.”

However, Quigg argued that regardless of what one might think of Woods’ character, “everything Bruce Woods testified to was corroborated by other witnesses.”

As Quigg pointed directly at the defendant, his voice boomed, “Despite the fact he wasn’t the trigger man — make no mistake — that man killed Tyree Whiting.”

One witness testified that on the night of the murder, Simon was with a friend in the shadows on the street corner, about 200 feet from Whiting’s lifeless body, as police and emergency services personnel were converging on the scene.

“That’s what the (expletive) he get!” Simon reportedly said, referring to Whiting.

“The defendant’s words are what did him in. They’ve come back to haunt him,” Quigg said.“This was a planned murder from the beginning.”

Witness testimony throughout the trial indicated Simon was angry with Whiting for spreading rumors that he had homosexual encounters while in prison. Both men had been sexually involved with the same woman, and Whiting feared she would contract HIV from her encounters with Simon, witnesses said.

“In the streets, being a homosexual is the highest insult you can call a man,” said Quigg, contending that Simon was plotting Whiting’s murder at least a week before it happened. “Every time (Woods) squeezed that trigger, he did it with a very specific purpose — to see Tyree Whiting dead. Every single one was bought and paid for by the defendant.”

Common Pleas Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy thanked the jury for their cooperation at the end of the day. Simon will be sentenced in 90 days.